Firm making drones for Ukraine plans more jobs

The AR3 drone being tested at West Wales Airport in Aberporth

A tech company that has built drones for surveillance and intelligence gathering in Ukraine plans to expand further after creating 30 jobs in mid Wales.

Tekever said it hoped to generate 200 jobs in the UK over the next three years, across its two sites in Aberporth, Ceredigion, and Southampton.

The company's AR3 drone, which can fly for up to 16 hours, is built and tested at Parc Aberporth near Cardigan.

Earlier this year, the company's AR3 drone was featured in a Ministry of Defence announcement that £60m was being spent on new surveillance drones for the Ukrainian army.

The drone can operate over land and sea and fly at speeds of about 45mph.

It can be launched from the ground by a catapult or by it can be fitted with rotors so it can launch vertically.

It lands by using a parachute and protective airbag.

For security reasons, Tekever would not comment on whether the drones being built at Aberporth were being used by the Ukrainian army.

The AR3 is also used for tasks such as patrolling maritime areas and monitoring oil and gas pipelines.

The firm did say that its drones were deployed in Ukraine for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

The construction of the AR3, made largely from a carbon fibre body, takes precision engineering, as every component has to be a specific weight.

Precision engineering is used to build the drones

Parc Aberporth was created in 2006 by the now abolished Welsh Development Agency as a test and evaluation centre for unmanned aerial vehicles.

The area around Parc Aberporth is a restricted air space which means that drones can operate and fly without special permission. The British Army's controversial Watchkeeper drone, built by Thales, has been tested in the area.

Parc Aberporth near Cardigan was opened in 2006

Matthew Biginton, of Tekever, said: "We've mainly taken people from the local area.

"We've taken people from retail, pet food packing warehouses, local garages, all sorts of backgrounds, and given them highly skilled jobs. We've put a couple of our guys on degree courses.

"We train internally and have a great network in Portugal of several hundred staff with lots of experience, so we send people out to train."

He described it as a "very high-tech company" which improved its employees' skills.

"We get the best out of people here. In terms of the local community, having a company like this on the local doorstep brings footprint through travel, hotels."

Morgan, an apprentice at Tekever, says he has had a range of experiences since joining the company

Morgan Brandy-Phillips, from Aberaeron, who has been taken on as an apprentice by Tekever said: "A year ago, I finished my A-levels.

"My dad was laying kerbs in the car park back in June, and he asked if there were any jobs going. Now I'm here."

Morgan said he has had a range of experiences since joining the company.

"I've learnt a lot of electrical work I'm starting a course next week on electrical engineering.

"I've learnt 3D printing and even carbon fibre work. I think it's great that it's right at my doorstep."

Scott McClelland, a company deputy director, said: "We're looking at how we expand and grow in the UK. The opportunity came to invest in west Wales.

"We've got the segregated airspace that allows us to produce aircraft here and demonstrate them.

"We've established this as a research and development facility, bringing in production capabilities. This is the first time we've done this outside of Portugal.

"Having the capability to customise our platforms and test them out on the airfield is a really important aspect for us."